Stone

Grace Hicks WALKER is my mother’s mother; my maternal grandmother. Grace was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 2, 1903 to Harry Hicks WALKER and Minnie WALKER (nee WERNSE). She died in Boerne, Kendall County, Texas on November 29, 1994 at the age of 91. She married Walter C. STONE, Jr. on April 9, 1928 in Webster Groves, Missouri. They were married until Walter’s death on July 18, 1968, also in Boerne, Texas.

It’s only recently that I found this funeral program for my great-grandmother, “Muzz” (Alberta Johnston Long (Stone) ). I had thought that she was buried in Texas, but apparently she was interned in Webster Groves, Missouri.

I don’t have any memory of my great grandparents on my mother’s paternal side other than what I see of them in family photos. Walter Corey Stone, Sr. passed away before I was born (in 1952) and Grandma Alberta (who was always called “Muzz”, though my mother never knew how she came to have that nickname) passed away when I was five or six (in 1964). Their marriage bore four children, three males and one female: Edwin Eli (m. Dorthy Crowe), Walter Corey Jr. (m. Grace Hicks Walker), Thyra Alberta (m. Ralph Davis), and Arthur Kenneth (“Uncle Kenneth”) (m. Margarie Castanie; m. Doris Ralls; m. Mary Edmondson). Below is a photo taken in 1949 at their 5oth wedding anniversary in Kingsville, Texas.

Below is some over-all reasearch of my STALEY/DAVIS ancestors, and some pictures from a trip taken in October 2004 to the Kingston & Wolfe Island area to locate some STALEY/DAVIS ancestral sites. The ancestors pertaining to the search was one of my gr-gr-gr-grandfathers, Martin STALEY (1801-1879), his daughter (my gr-gr-grandmother) Margaret Elizabeth STALEY (DAVIS), and his son-in-law (my gr-gr-grandfather) James William DAVIS. The STALEY/DAVIS lineage is linked to the STONE family tree in this respect:

I’ve come across diverse information concerning Martin STALEY’s lineage. One source (that of Scott Manning on the website The Islands) states that Martin STALEY’s father was Jacob Martin STALEY (1756-1843), born in New York, and that Jacob’s father was Martin STAHLE (1735-?). Information denotes Martin STAHLE as German (perhaps Palatine…?) immigrating to the New York area at some point. He was a United Empire Loyalist (UEL) who later relocated to Upper Canada (Ontario).

Another source (the research of my cousin, Doris Kistler), has much of the same information as Scott’s, with the exception of two things. Her research states that Martin STALEY’s father is Hiram STALEY and that they are of Dutch ancestory. She said that in her interviews with some Staley cousins, Hiram was the name they mentioned as Martin’s father. A letter penned by my gr-gr grandmother Ursula to her daughter states that the Staley name is Dutch. I’m adding this latter information, not because it’s correct, but because it’s been the information passed down to my family. Below is a consolidation of the information from the above sources.

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Martin STALEY was born on September 6, 1801. His birthplace is unconfirmed but sources suggest the Mohawk River Valley, NY. At some point his family relocated to Upper Canada (now Ontario). He later enlisted with the Frontenac Militia (1828). Around 1839-1840, Martin STALEY built and owned an inn/tavern in Kingston, Ontario, The Queen’s Inn, on 125 Brock St., which is still in operation. (All photos below were taken by me on an excursion to Kingston & Wolf Island in October of 2004, unless otherwise noted.)

A few years later, he purchased a parcel of Land on Wolfe Island. He moved his family to the island and became a farmer. Wolfe Island, located across the water way from Kingston, ON, is only accessable by boat and ferry.

Marysville is the main (only?) town on Wolfe Island. Located in the western side of town is Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and Trinity Anglican Church (both within walking distance of each other) and their respective cemeteries. The present church of The Sacred Heart of Mary, RCC was built in 1917. There were two previous churches, the first a small mission church built in 1852. The second was built in 1872 to accommodate a larger Catholic population. Trinity Anglican Church was built in 1845, the first church to be built on the island.Martin Staley, his wife, Catherine LAMBERT, his daughter, Margaret STALEY (DAVIS), and her son, Charles DAVIS are buried at Sacred Heart’s old cemetery. Both churches played a large part in the lives of the STALEY’s and DAVIS’. Margaret STALEY and James William DAVIS were married at Trinity Anglican on December 28, 1852.

My ancestors are buried in Sacred Heart’s Old Cememtery, which is not near the church but a few blocks off the main road, down a dirt road on a remote piece of pasture land. Their plots and headstones are located in the back area of the cemetery.

I don’t have any information at this point on Charles J. Davis, who would be Ursula Agnes Davis’ (married to E.T. Stone) brother.

James William DAVIS was a lighthouse keeper on Pigeon Island for a number of years. He perished as he was making his way back to Wolfe Island ) Below is a picture I found on the internet of the present lighthouse on Pigeon Island (Photo credit: Jennifer Hoelzel).

Also I was able to locate the plot of land on Wolfe Island where the STALEY’s resided. There’s still a home on the site, built by Archibald STALEY in the 1880′s, that is still being used by STALEY family: From the back of the property, one has a lovely view of Kingston.

My thanks to Scott Manning and Doris Kistler for all their hard work and research on this branch of the Staley family, and allowing me to use their information on this posting. Thanks also goes to the researchers on The Islands (link below) where Scott’s research (and others) can be found in regards to the Staley family and other genealogical info pertaining to Wolf Island, etc.

Eli T.’s oldest son, Walter Corey, was my great-grandfather, and unfortunately, I have very little information about him. I do know that he was born in Syracuse, NY, in either 1876 or 1877 (family notes say “1876″, the 1880 census record on the LDS site says “1877″). I have family notes that state he died in 1952, but I don’t know where he passed away, nor where his body was interned. My guess is he passed away in one of three places in Texas: Harlingen, Kingsville, or Kerrville, as I know my great-grandparents had settled for short periods of time in several of those towns. I don’t have information to the specific dates of either his birth or death. When Walter was 5 or 6 years old, his family moved to De Soto, Missouri. Walter spent the remainder of his childhood in De Soto. Hopefully at some point I’ll have more information to post on items such as his occupation, etc.